Sherman - Would You Hold Him Accountable for War Crimes ?

Sherman - Would You Hold Him Accountable for War Crimes ?

By today's standards or international war ethics (if there really are any such things in war) would General Sherman be guilty of war crimes against the south and her people? Read the account of one of his officers regarding the passage through South Carolina. Pay particular interest in the sadistic way he burned what he couldn't use or carry off, his abuse to the non-combatants and the retaliatory execution of prisoners of war.

General William T. Sherman Comes to Dinner

The story is provided by Roger Ganis whose great grandfather, Michael Joshua Reed, met General Sherman when he was 13 years old. The story was passed on to Mr. Ganis by his grandmother Lula Emma Reed who was Michael Reed's daughter. While I have no reason to doubt the veracity of this story, I have sought historical verification of the facts presented. To that end, I located The Memoirs of General William T. Sherman published in 1876. Several corroborating facts stand out. First, General Sherman traveled with the central column of his army which passed through the Willow Swamp area where the Reed family lived. Second, General Sherman mentions that he was about 5 miles from Bamberg, South Carolina on February 5, 1865 thus putting him in the area of the Reed Plantation. He does not mention a meeting with Anna Reed nor does he indicate which side of Bamberg he was on, however, I believe that this provides at least some historical support for the following story. Furthermore, while not mentioned in his memoirs, it was at this time that Union forces burned the Willow Swamp Baptist Church, not far from the Reed home.
Henry Singer

Great great grandson of Anna R. and James W. Reed Captain in Confederate Army  

Gen. William T. Sherman Meets Anna Rebecca Reed 

As told by Roger Ganis

In December 1864, Anna Rebecca Reed received the news that Union Army troops under the command of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman had marched from Tennessee to Savannah, GA, during the summer and fall of 1864.
During January and February 1865, Anna Rebecca was at home on the Reed Plantation with her nine children while her husband, Capt. James William Reed, was off serving with the Confederate Army. The children were: William Hugh, age 19, George Sylvester, 16, Michael Joshua, 13, Henrietta, 11, Adella Ellen, 9, Ann Rebecca, 8, James Alexander, 5, Stanmore Judson, 2, and Mary Salina, 1.
Around the last week of January 1865, she learned that Sherman's troops had left Savannah, GA, and were marching through South Carolina. It was thought he was headed to Charleston, SC. The first week in February she learned that Sherman's Army had been involved in a battle on February 2 and 3, 1865, at "Rivers Bridge" on the Salkehatchie River, near Ulmer and Ehrhardt, SC. She also learned that most of his army was headed toward Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. The Reed Plantation lay directly in Sherman's path between Rivers Bridge and Columbia.
After hearing of the battle at Rivers Bridge, Anna Rebecca learned that Sherman's Army was near the Reed place. She had her children and what slaves were left take all of the valuables from the plantation house and hide them by burying them in the ground and hiding things around the plantation. She also had most of the food that had been canned or preserved removed and hidden along with the livestock in the swamp area away from the house so Sherman's Army could not find them.
She had the slaves and her children start preparing food and setting up tables out in front of the plantation house. When the army scouts from General Sherman's Army arrived at the Reed place, she advised them the food was being prepared for Gen. Sherman and his officers. Some of the scouts returned to Gen. Sherman and told him about the dinner that was being held for him at the Reed home.
Gen. Sherman returned to the Reed home along with the scouts and found a large dinner had been prepared. Anna Rebecca Reed, on meeting Gen. Sherman, invited him and his officers to eat. Gen. Sherman accepted her offer, left, and returned to his camp to wash up and put on a clean uniform. A short time later, Gen. Sherman returned along with some of his officers and ate the dinner with the Reed family. Anna Rebecca Reed offered Gen. Sherman the use of her cotton fields for his army to camp on. Gen. Sherman and some of his army set up camp in the cotton fields for the night.
The next day, before his army continued their march northward, Gen. Sherman gave orders that no one was to take anything or burn anything belonging to the Reed family. Before leaving, Gen. Sherman went to Anna Rebecca Reed and thanked her for her hospitality.
A few weeks later, Anna Rebecca learned that Columbia, SC, had surrendered to Sherman's Army on February 17, 1865, and the city had been burned.

While Sherman was at the Reed house, a soldier was discovered inside the house on the stairs going up to the bedrooms. One of the Reed daughters was upstairs at the head of the stairs, and asked him what his was doing there. He replied that he just wanted to talk with her. Some of her brothers saw what was going on and grabbed him and during a scuffle someone hit the soldier on the head with a shovel. The blow killed the soldier, and they decided to hide the body in a closet under the stairs until the other soldiers left.
The next day, after Gen. Sherman left with his army, the carried the soldier's body out back behind the house and buried him in an unmarked grave. No one ever came back to check on the missing soldier. Soldiers were deserting from both the Union and Confederate Armies all the time during this part of the Civil War.